Marriage

Marriage is a special institution in the plan of God. For example, it is one institution that existed before man's fall into sin (Gen. 2:22-25), it uniquely functions for a metaphor of God and Israel (Ezekiel 16), and of Christ and the church (Eph. 5:22-33). God made marriage as a special picture of unity, covenant faithfulness, and abiding love and service.

It is no surprise then that this beautiful gift has been diminished in our age and is under constant attack.

That marriage is lessened in the eyes of the world is no surprise, for we expect that, but it may be surprising to see it devalued in the church. How does the church devalue marriage?

There are a number of ways. To begin, however, we must understand that marriage has always been under attack. It is for this reason that the author of Hebrews had to instruct his readers that, "Marriage is to be held in honor among all" (13:4). This has always been a issue among believers, a target that the devil places in his sights when he wishes to cause harm to the church. Marriage is something that must be intentionally guarded and shored up! We must fight against the tendencies of our flesh as we watch for these ways that marriage can be devalued.

First, marriage can be dishonored by immaturity. There are many people in our day who wish to prolong adolescence indefinitely by living a disorganized and easy life for their own sake. These people view marriage with some disdain as if it were for people who 'just don't get it'--"because if I get married, how could I keep serving myself, right?" In reality it is these marriage avoiders who fail to understand that within marriage the call to responsibility, maturity, and self-giving love are chief blessings.

Second, marriage can be dishonored by fornication and adultery. The author of Hebrews makes this connection explicit in 13:4, when he says that God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Just as a loving marriage paints a beautiful picture, sexual sin outside the bounds of the marriage covenant paints a picture, too, only this picture is unwholesome, tragic, and blasphemous. If marriage is meant to represent Christ and His church, adultery and fornication falsely represent the Lord as if He were traitorous and unloving.

Third, marriage is dishonored by those who treat it lightly. This can be done by those who are married or by those who are getting married. Married couples sometimes fall into destructive patterns that leads to clear and disruptive sin, however, there are patterns that are less evidently destructive as well. Think of a husband who consistently fails to lead his wife, or a wife who consistently fails to submit in a biblical way--have they not equally misrepresented Christ and the church? Those who are pursuing marriage can dishonor marriage in many ways. They can enter thoughtlessly into marriage, as if it were a light matter. They can fail to establish boundaries for their intimacy (physical intimacy, but also emotional intimacy), thereby acting as if there were no special privileges for those who have entered into the safety and permanency of the marriage covenant. They can date recreationally, acting as if relationships were about meeting their own felt needs instead of about serving God and others.

In all these ways, marriage can be dishonored in the church. We ought to understand marriage in line with God's expressed will and then act accordingly for His glory in the world. Mere understanding is not enough--we must apply the teachings of Scripture so that we manifest the greatness of this beautiful gift from our loving God. We must live in such a way that our marriages reflect the dawning glory of The Marriage--that of Christ the Lord to His beloved bride.

--Dean of Admissions

Little Things

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."
              --Jesus of Nazareth, Luke 16:10

We must always be mindful of our roles as stewards in this life. Everything that we have is a gift from God, including trials (James 1:2-4, Rom. 5:3-5), and we are responsible for how it is used. What Jesus teaches us here is that even the 'small' things in our lives, that is, the supposedly insignificant and immaterial things, are of great importance because they reflect the true nature of our character.

Who we are as managers is reflected not only in the great things--family, worship, career--but in the day to day actions that we perform or fail to perform. Notice that Jesus makes the distinction between the one who is faithful and the one who is unrighteous. That means that this is not merely the difference between levels of maturity or wisdom, but the difference between being a righteous and faithful son of God or an unrighteous and unfaithful son of the Devil. The difference between the two characters that Jesus talks about is the difference between God and Satan, Heaven and Hell, obedience and rebellion.

In light of this, we must examine our lives thoroughly in the light of Scripture. Mercifully, God has given us an infallible source of wisdom to guide us so that we can know Him and live in right relationship with Him. We must take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23), serve the will of God (1 Peter 4:2), and live for Him who died and rose again on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:14). We must be mindful of even the 'small' things in the eyes of the world, knowing that our personal character is manifest in every action that we do. When we see our own failure we must respond in repentance and faith, trusting that God designed to save real sinners for His glory. This is how we can walk as God's children.

This lesson is especially true in the context of a seminary, for there are many opportunities for students (and professors!) to be faithful or unfaithful in 'small' duties--quizzes, reading, study, papers, grading--the list goes on! Guard against unrighteous living in every regard.



--Dean of Admissions


"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you."
        --the apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 4:16

Inclining Our Heart

“My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,

Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding…” 

--Proverbs 2:1-2

As we grow in Christ, one thing that will always be apparent is our need for wisdom from God. We must recognize our own complete deficiency of understanding in every matter of life and, therefore, cling closely to the Word of God.

How do we make ourselves more apt to learn from God’s Word? One answer is given in Proverbs 2:1-2, where Solomon instructed his hearer in this regard. Solomon gives us two pieces of counsel to help us apprehend the precious truth of God’s word and commandments.

First, Solomon told his hearer to ‘make his ear attentive to wisdom.’ According to a biblical worldview, no one is able to grow wise on their own. At the very least, a wise person must be willing to listen to advisers and mentors who can direct them to God’s way. This requires that every wise person listen to wisdom. Solomon instructed us to make our ears attentive to wisdom—that means that we must diligently seek it out and pursue it. We must expend energy to pay attention when we hear wise speech, and upon hearing we must also actively ponder what we have heard. Our ear must attend to wisdom, not give it a cursory audition. We must devote our ears to hearing what is wise.

Second, Solomon wisely told us to ‘incline our hearts to understanding.’ This means that our internal posture must be predisposed to desire understanding and knowledge. In our heart and our mind, we must be strongly desirous of gaining insight. In order to do this, we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, recognizing that we are not wise of ourselves and that we need help. We must desire that help, even when it takes the form of correction and rebuke (for the contrast, see 1:25 and 1:30). Our inner man must be predisposed to heeding wisdom—and this predisposition can only come from God’s humbling Spirit.

In light of this, let us cry out once again for the help of God in order to grow in Christ. This is something that we cannot do on our own (cf. John 15:1-5), but God is gracious to help us once He humbles us (James 4:6-10).

--Dean of Admissions

Ritualism

It is odd that we often think of the Old Testament as supporting a type of ritualistic religion, because such a view could hardly be farther from the text. We picture the ancient Hebrew religion as one that seeks to serve God via the performance of established duties yet that lacks internal principles of worship. When we examine the Scriptures we see that this is certainly not the case.

An examination of God’s Word shows that He did clearly value the rituals which He commanded the Israelites to perform. Such acts as the Day of Atonement, Sabbath rituals, and sacrifices were established by God as the preferred means of serving Him. When these duties were left undone, there were blameworthy motives present in the people that always led to apostasy or discipline. God valued the rituals that He established.

On the other hand, these rituals were never divorced from the internal acts of worship that we often think of as related to worship in Christ. This can be clearly seen in many places; Isaiah chapter 1 is a perfect example.

Isaiah rebukes the people of his day for their failures to worship God rightly. He uses strong language of condemnation to demonstrate that their failures were not just slight shortfalls, but rather a complete abandonment of God’s principles.

Specifically, he says that they have continued to perform the ritualistic duties that God established but that they have refused to worship God in their inner persons. Look at his words: “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” (v. 11). Isaiah refers to their burning incense (v. 13), new moon and Sabbath rituals (v. 13), the blood of different types of animals (v. 11), and their multiplied prayers (v. 15). In every way, it seems that they were abundantly obeying God’s commands to perform these rituals…and at the same time, utterly failing to perform them. How can this be?

This was the case because they had abandoned the true worship of God in righteous obedience—not the perfect obedience that could save them, for that was impossible (cf. Is. 64:6)—but in the true yielding of their whole selves to His purpose and saving intent. They no longer regarded His law as worth their attention (cf. 1:16-17), they failed to know God (1:2-3), they turned away from God instead of toward Him (1:4). Everything about them had been corrupted (1:5-8), but they did not have the sense to seek His forgiveness (1:18-20). They did not understand that it was not the rituals that mattered, it was the God who gave the rituals who mattered most, and without whom they were left bankrupt and hopeless.

We must understand that the danger of this sort of false religion extended beyond Isaiah’s day. Even Jesus used Isaiah’s words to rebuke the Pharisees of the first century (Matt. 15:8, from Is. 29:13). We must watch that our religion has not become mere outward zeal—if it does not penetrate to the depths of our person and our understanding, it will be worthless ritualism that cannot save, and that can only damn. Worship must be in spirit and in truth, both in the inner person and the outer person. It is with this kind of religion that we may truly know God, and knowing Him, we may serve Him rightly. May the Lord grant us a right heart of worship!

--Dean of Admissions

Wisdom's Target

When God speaks, to whom does He speak? When God provides wisdom, to whom does He provide it?

It seems intuitive that God intends to bless the naïve and youths with wisdom, because those are the two groups that especially need it. God blesses them by giving them His word which contains wise principles and instructions. We should all be mindful to bless those younger and less mature than us with the wisdom which God has given us.

At the same time, we must be careful to define our opening questions according to God’s Word. Sometimes God does surprising things; He does things that seem counterintuitive to us as fallen human beings. This is a case like that.

The book of Proverbs is arguably the greatest single body of direct wisdom writing in the Scriptures (though all of the words of God demonstrate His wisdom, without a doubt). Proverbs is targeted wisdom, directing us how to live before God in a wise and righteous manner. To whom is the book of Proverbs addressed?

We see, just as we expected, that in Proverbs 1:4 the author says his words are directed to the naïve and to the youth. What we may not have expected is that he also wrote Proverbs for the “wise man” and the “man of understanding,” that is, for those people who had advanced far in the wisdom enterprise (cf. 1:5). Think about the implications of this for a moment.

What this means is that God’s Word (in this case the book of Proverbs) is something that we can never outgrow. We will always need the wisdom of God to help us understand the world in which we live. We will always need God’s wise instructions to help us live a life that pleases Him (cf. 2 Cor. 5:9, Eph. 5:10). Whatever our stage in life or maturity, we must rely on the Lord.

Whether we are wise or naïve, old or young, let us humble ourselves underneath the mighty hand of God. Let us submit to His Word in joy, trusting that our God knows best, and ever growing in reliance on Him. Truly, He is good to help us (Prov. 3:5-6).

--Dean of Admissions

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

               --Solomon the Son of David, King of Israel

               Proverbs 1:7

Strength in God

Living in a fallen world oftentimes results in fatigue. Our bodies are finite and are often forced to operate in less than ideal conditions. On top of that, we can lose sight of our great God and experience fatigue in our motivation.  What can Christians do in response to this sad reality?

Believe! Our God has given us good promises and commands so that we will trust Him to provide for our needs. This deals with things such as our simplest daily provisions (Matt. 6:11, 6:25-34) but also includes spiritual provisions. We must actively put our faith in these promises and seek to fulfill these commands, not out of a mercenary desire, but out of a heart that rests in the gospel of grace.

When our joy grows dim and our hope begins to feel threadbare, we must remember that God has provided for our needs. In Romans 15:13, Paul prayed for his friends that ‘the God of hope would fill them with all joy and peace in believing, so that they would abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ This is submissive, sweet joy that comes from the power and efficacy of the Holy Spirit. He sovereignly grants it to us. We need not live without joy, but we can ask God for it for others and ourselves.

When we become fatigued in the spiritual fights in which we engage, we must walk in the strength of the tools which the Lord provides. Paul’s ‘weapons’ were not fleshly, but ‘divinely powerful’ (2 Cor. 10:4). The Lord gives us many helpful pieces of equipment to protect us in our battles in this life (cf. Eph. 6:10-18). Additionally, the Lord gives us the Spirit of power, love, and discipline (2 Tim. 1:7) to serve Him without timidity and fatigue.

We should not think of hardship and difficulty as a curse from God, either. Remember that Paul’s weakness was uniquely used by God to demonstrate His own power (2 Cor. 12:9). This caused Paul to boast in his weakness, so that the power of Christ would dwell in him. Paul’s weakness became a blessing!

Finally, we must remember that we will not always dwell in weakness. Christians have the good hope of a renewed body when Christ comes to gather His own. Paul tells us that such a renewal means we will have bodies that are “raised in power” so that we may serve the Lord without the weakness of our current flesh (1 Cor. 15:43). We can anticipate this blessed hope to bolster our faith today and until then, we have the Lord’s gracious provision in the Spirit.

The truth is: we have strength for the present, hope for the future, and love for God always.

--Dean of Admissions

Render to Caesar

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

—Jesus of Nazareth, Mark 12:17

As tax season is upon us again, it behooves us think about the nature of the world in which we live. Every human being lives under dual governments. Immediately, we live under the governing hand of God, which guides and provides for all creatures at every time and in every place (Acts 17:24-28, Col. 1:16-18, Prov. 16:4). This is invisible, eternal, omnipresent, perfect governance. Secondarily, there is human government. All humans live under some form of human authority, even those who are autonomous (since autonomous simply means ‘a law to themselves’).

There are two key points for us to remember at tax season. First, we must remember that the Lord has established all human governments (Rom. 13:1-2), and therefore expects us to gladly heed them. This includes giving custom, honor, and even fear to whom they are due, and paying taxes (Rom. 13:6-7). Those who disregard human government are essentially disregarding God—which is no slight thing (cf. Rom. 13:2)! In many ways, we should live simply and righteously before our human governors (cf. also 1 Pet. 2:13-17). This is relatively straightforward and easy to accomplish.

Second, we must remember that the Lord is the ultimate Governor of this universe. As our King, Lord, and Governor, He has rights and dues that are owed Him no less than human governments do. While we dutifully pay our taxes each year on April 15 (or thereabouts), how often do we consider the ‘taxes’ that we owe God? Jesus statement in Mark demonstrates that just as Caesar has his dues, likewise God has His dues. We can pay our dues to ‘Caesar’ in the coin of the land, but God deserves and demands much more. In fact, He is worthy of nothing less than our entire selves (Mark 12:30)!

So this year as you render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, make sure that you are also rendering to God what is God’s. He is worthy! In reality, though we fall short of giving God what He deserves, He has perfectly provided for our shortfall by giving His Son in our place. The audit was conducted and we were clearly seen to be lawbreakers, yet God graciously gave His Son for His elect to save them. Praise Him! This gracious provision should only compel us out of love to give Him more and more what is due Him (John 15:13-16).

--Dean of Admissions